All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers
What's It About?
What are your neighbors really capable of when they think no one is watching?Calling all Crime Junkies! If you haven’t heard the latest buzz, the rumors are true. Our favorite true crime podcaster, the incredible Ashley Flowers, has made her explosive debut as an author with her first (but hopefully not her last) novel, All Good People Here (Bantam). It is a tale that is sure to keep readers turning pages late into the night.
UNCOVERING A DECADES-OLD MURDER
All Good People Here follows a young reporter, Margot Davies, who returns home to the small town of Wakarusa, Indiana, to care for her ailing uncle. In the process, Margot finds herself caught up in a present-day murder eerily similar to one that had taken place 20 years prior, right across the street from where her uncle still resides.
January Jacobs was five years old when she was found murdered just miles from her home, and her killer was never apprehended. Twenty years later, in the next town over, another little girl was found murdered just like January.
Unable to stop herself, Margot begins to dig deeper into the murder and what she finds is even bigger, and more terrifying, than she could have ever imagined.
Much like Ashley Flowers’ captivating narrations in Crime Junkie, her novel weaves a tale so intricate and complex that just when you think you’ve figured out whodunnit, there’s a twist so shocking that even the most seasoned of sleuths and Crime Junkie listeners will never see it coming. At the very end, readers are left to wonder: What happens to our protagonist? Does she make it out alive? Or does she become the next victim to suffer the same fate as January because she knew too much?
SET IN VIVID LOCATIONS AND TIMES
The story takes place in dual, alternating timelines, starting in the year 1994. It begins on the night January was discovered missing, as told from the viewpoint of her mother, Krissy. Right away, readers get the sense that there is more to the story than what we’re being given. But, it’s not until the very end of the novel; that readers understand the shocking truth of what really happened the night January was killed.
The small town of Wakarusa, Indiana, is an actual place near and dear to Flowers’ heart. Located in northern Indiana, it’s a small farming and manufacturing town just two hours east of Chicago, Illinois and roughly three hours north of Indiana’s capital, Indianapolis.
In an interview with People magazine, Flowers indicated that her choice to set the novel in the small town of Wakarusa was a way to “showcase” Indiana to the rest of the world while also setting the story someplace meaningful to her. Flowers, as well as her fellow co-host and best friend, Brit Prawat, grew up together in Wakarusa. “I’ve always seen these bigger cities pop up over and over again, and as a local, I wanted to see my own place represented,” Flowers said.
FOR TRUE CRIME AND CRIME JUNKIE FANS
Though the story itself is fictional, readers may notice several similarities to other cases, including what Flowers describes — and Crime Junkie listeners will recognize — as a key piece of evidence discussed in a past Crime Junkie episode: the note left on the side of the barn.
In writing that echoes the style of her podcast, Ashley Flowers has a way of evoking the feeling that readers are sitting down with their favorite cuppa, curled under a nice warm blanket and listening to her narrate the story they’re reading. Crime Junkie fans and readers alike will be ready to settle in for what can only be described as a hair-raising, thrilling, twisty and chilling read that is every bit what we would expect from our favorite hostess.
About Ashley Flowers:
Ashley is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of audiochuck, the award-winning, independent media and podcast production company known for its standout content and storytelling across different genres. She also hosts several audiochuck shows, including top-rated podcast Crime Junkie, The Deck, Red Ball and Full Body Chills.
At the core of the company and all its podcasts, Ashley and her team are committed to developing responsible true crime content. Ashley is passionate about advocacy work and recently established the nonprofit Season of Justice to provide financial resources to both law enforcement agencies and families in order to help solve cold cases. She sits on the organization’s board of directors. Ashley Flowers was born and raised in Indiana, where she continues to live with her husband, her daughter, and their beloved dog, Charlie. She received a Bachelor of Science in Biological Services from Arizona State University. Most recently, Ashley is the author of All Good People Here, a fiction crime thriller.
